DuPont on Monday announced the sale of the last significant portion of its mobility and materials segment, cementing the company’s transition to a focus on electronics, electric vehicles and clean energy.
DuPont is selling majority ownership of its Delrin acetal homopolymer product line to a New York private equity firm called TJC, L.P. DuPont will receive $1.25 billion and a note receivable of $350 million, and will retain 19.9% of the business. The deal values the Delrin line at $1.8 billion.
Acetal homopolymer is a material used in parts designed to replace metal. It’s used in gears, safety restraints, conveyor belts, ski bindings and zip fasteners, among other applications.
In a statement, DuPont CEO Ed Breen said the deal largely completes the company’s “planned exit” from the mobility and materials segment. In February 2022, DuPont agreed to sell most of its polymer and performance resin lines to a Texas chemical and special materials company for $11 billion. At the time, the company said it planned to divest the Delrin line in a separate deal.
“This transaction is structured to maximize value for our shareholders, providing significant cash proceeds at close to be deployed in line with our strategic priorities while providing an opportunity for DuPont to participate in future upside potential upon exit of our retained equity interest in the Delrinbusiness,” Breen said in the Monday statement.
DuPont in 2021 said it planned to sell the segment as part of its efforts to reshape itself as an electronics, electric vehicles and clean energy company. The company had decided to shift away from its legacy chemicals business and focus on areas it believes are positioned for significant future growth.
“Our strategy is intentional and included strategic decisions to shift the company to higher-growth, higher-margin businesses with less cyclicality,” CEO Ed Breen said at the time.
The announcement coincided with DuPont’s $5.2 billion deal to acquire Rogers Corp., an Arizona-based company that develops wireless infrastructure, electric vehicle batteries and wind turbines, among other technologies. That deal, however, fell through in November after the companies failed to gain approval from Chinese regulators.
In May, DuPont announced it agreed to acquire Spectrum Plastics Group for $1.75 billion. The Atlanta-based company produces devices and components used in the medical industry. The deal closed Aug. 1.
DuPont scientists created acetal homopolymer in the 1950s. It is produced in West Virginia and the Netherlands. It’s unlikely the deal affects DuPont’s Delaware workforce.
Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
